Savin' Me
by TeamVampire
Summary: Prior to season four and New Moon. Bella Swan is just another patient for House. Inconsistent symptoms, strange medical history - a standard enough puzzle. Her boyfriend, however, is an entirely different matter.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own House, Twilight or any of the lyrics used.**

Savin' Me

Prologue

_And you wash over me_

_You wash over me like rain_

_And you fall over me_

_You crawl over me like sunshine_

_Like sunshine_

- Wash by Lifehouse

Third Person POV

A thick layer clouds shifted overhead, blocking out the sun's rays entirely – a rare occurrence for the locals. A young couple was strolling carelessly on a path alongside a river, hands linked, enjoying the breeze, even if it was a little humid. After a few peaceful minutes, the girl pointed out a cart selling ice-cream.

"I'll race you," challenged the boy, smiling at the look on his girlfriend's face.

"A race? How old are you?" she questioned. "Besides, somehow I doubt I'll win."

"I'll go easy on you," he promised.

The girl raised her eyebrows, brushing a strand of dark hair out of her face as the wind picked up. "_Very _easy?"

"Well, if you think you need it."

She snorted, drawing the attention of several passing joggers and tourists. "You seem to have forgotten who you're talking to."

"Fine then, _very _easy. Have to keep it human, right?" He grinned at her.

"Okay, I'll do it. But," she added quickly, "on one condition. If I win, you have to take a bite of my ice-cream."

The boy grimaced. "Where did this sudden burst of confidence come from?"

She shrugged. "I'm testing you."

"Testing me?" he asked, puzzled.

"You'll see."

"It's times like this I wish I could read your mind. Do normal humans do such odd things, or is this Bella-specific?"

"Are you stalling?"

He stopped walking abruptly, pulling her around to face him before asking quietly, "Would I need to stall?"

Bella appeared to stop breathing for a moment, staring into his eyes. A deep pink flooded her cheeks as she regained awareness, hastily attempting to cover up her lapse by tugging him onwards. "Typical Edward, always delaying the inevitable."

"The inevitable being my victory, of course," affirmed Edward, back to light and cheery, though it seemed just slightly forced, as if there was something about Bella's reply that bothered him.

"Well, yes, that would be the case if you were a vampire racing a human."

"Aren't I?"

"Nope. Now you're a boy racing his girlfriend. And his girlfriend would very much like to win," hinted Bella slyly.

"Bella, are you blackmailing me?"

"Would I need to blackmail you?" Bella replied innocently, a touch of mockery in her tone.

"Funny. Are we racing or not?"

"Sure thing. But after this, let's go back to my mom's. I'm sort of tired." As she spoke, she stumbled a little. Edward caught her elbow, looking less playful and more worried.

"We can just go now, if you'd like."

Bella shook him off gently, smiling reassuringly. "Oh no, don't think you're getting out of it that easily. Come on, this was your idea. Let's race."

"All right. Ladies first."

Bella rolled her eyes, suppressing a chuckle at Edward's mock-serious expression. "Ready, set, go!"

It wasn't, by anyone's standards, a particularly quick race. Bella half-ran half-jogged at a comfortable speed, with Edward keeping pace beside her.

"Maybe I wasn't very clear," said Edward conversationally, his breathing slow and even. "When I said race, I meant a race to see who was _fastest_. I think you have it backwards."

This time Bella did laugh. "I think you're wrong." Putting on a burst of speed, Bella ran the last few metres to the cart, followed by an amused Edward a moment later.

"I win," stated Bella, wrapping her arms around Edward and looking up at him.

Edward laughed, returning the gesture. "I suppose you did. Well, we had a deal. One bite of ice-cream. Which flavour?"

"Hm..." Bella stepped out of Edward's embrace, examining the various flavours the cart had on offer. The light breeze had turned into an all-out gale, and the ice-cream cart was in danger of losing its umbrella. With the adrenalin wearing off, her exhaustion had returned in full force. She felt as vulnerable to the gusty weather as the umbrella.

"Bella? Are you feeling all right?" Edward's voice sounded faint, distant. Like it was being lost in the wind.

Bella swayed as the world spun violently around her. "I feel... dizzy." Her peripheral vision was disappearing, immediately accompanied by the strength in her legs.

Edward caught her moments before her head cracked on the pavement. "Bella! Listen to me, Bella. I need you to stay awake. Don't close your eyes," he instructed, forcing himself to steady his voice.

"Tired..." was the last thing she said before her eyes rolled back and she lost consciousness.

"No," Edward muttered frantically. "No, stay awake, Bella!" His fingers were at her throat, measuring her pulse. It was fast, much too fast. Keeping her head cushioned, he pulled out his phone, paying little attention to the small crowd that had gathered.

"I've called an ambulance," announced an onlooker. "They said they'd be here in five minutes."

Edward nodded in thanks, already hearing the sirens. He'd just have to be patient. Even if the doctors at this hospital couldn't figure out what was wrong, Carlisle could. If there was a better doctor in the world, he hadn't heard of him.

**No, I'm not incapacitated, in a coma or any of the thoughts that may have gone through the minds of the maybe two people out there who noticed I hadn't written anything in quite some time. Unless one of the thoughts was that I had Writer's Block, in which case you're quite right. I've been saving whatever scraps of writing I can muster up until I had something even slightly worth posting. It's pretty pathetic, even by my low standards. But this idea's been stuck in my head for a while now, so I decided to give it a go.**

**Let me make this clear right from the start: I don't plan on frequent or regular updates. I write ninety-nine percent for myself, one percent for any bored readers out there. Review if you want, or just don't. I do appreciate feedback, though. It's hard to be objective about your own writing. I know this was short, but it's a prologue. You know, those two minute long scenes at the start of House episodes. I can most certainly promise longer chapters. But, again, it could be a while. So far, the story consists of roughly half a dozen short scenes with nothing to join them and a page of notes. I'll figure it out as I go. Not the best plan for a House fic, but I've never been one for planning. But I digress.**

**-TeamVampire**


	2. Chapter 1

**Sorry to cruelly raise your hopes, but this is not an indication of more frequent updates. I've just had most of this chapter written for so long, I figured I should bite the bullet and get it out there (which sort of explains the brevity of it).**

**Set in season three, by the way.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own House, Twilight or any of the lyrics used.**

Savin' Me

Chapter 1

_You gotta roll with it_

_You gotta take your time_

_You gotta say what you say_

_Don't let anybody get in your way_

_'Cause it's all too much for me to take_

- Roll With It by Oasis

Third Person POV

"Eighteen-year-old female with fatigue, abdominal pain, pale skin and tachycardia. She fainted while walking along St John's River in Jacksonville three days ago. Since then, she's been to two other hospitals, neither of which have been able to diagnose her."

Inwardly cursing the administrator's uncanny ability to know the exact moment he entered the hospital, Dr House replied, "Florida? Long trip to make, just to be sent back home."

"House, she needs your help. She's getting worse by the day."

"Not interested." House made for the lift as quickly as his cane would allow. Not fast enough, as Cuddy caught up with him in a few strides, amazingly not at all impaired by her high heels.

Cuddy placed her hand in the way of the lift doors, making one last attempt to convince her recalcitrant employee. "Dr Carlisle Cullen recommended you to her."

"Cullen?" Despite endeavouring to keep his tone neutral, House couldn't quite wipe the curiosity from his face.

Cuddy's expression was smug – she'd won. House couldn't resist such an ego boost. "Mhmm. The patient's boyfriend is his son. Edward is the one who brought her in."

House stared out at the lobby calculatingly. "His son... Is he still here?"

Blinking in confusion at the strange turn the conversation was taking, Cuddy cautiously replied, "Yes, he hasn't left her side since she was admitted earlier this morning. But why is he important?"

House turned back to Cuddy, but ignored her question. "Get someone else to cover my clinic duty this week and I'll take the case."

"I'll give you two hours off," Cuddy countered automatically before realising he'd just managed to successfully distract her.

"Five."

"Three." It was probably best to just leave it for now. She'd get an answer from Foreman later.

"Done." House accepted the proffered folder, then, raising his voice several decibels, called out, "You can go back to your mail-order husband search now."

He smiled with new-found satisfaction as the lift doors closed, no longer hindered by Cuddy's hand, leaving the Dean of Medicine to the curious glances from the hospital's gossip-prone nursing staff.

* * *

"Got a new case," announced House as he limped through the doorway of the differential room. He threw the patient file to a surprised Cameron, who just barely managed to catch it, before picking up his marker and beginning to scrawl on the whiteboard.

"Not a very interesting one," he continued, separating the board into two sides, "but I know how we can fix that."

Cameron glanced up from the file and watched House for a moment. "House, there's only one patient file."

"There's one more button than usual undone on your blouse. Okay, Chase, your turn to make an observation."

Foreman rolled his eyes while Cameron fiddled self-consciously with her shirt. "If there's only one patient file, why are there two patients on the board?" he asked, a touch exasperated.

House had finished writing on each side of the whiteboard, the left displaying the standard list of symptoms –

BORING GIRL

FATIGUE

AB. PAIN

PALLOR

TACHYCARDIA

FAINTING

– while the right was only titled:

CULLEN JR

The Head of Diagnostics turned to face his employees, capping the pen as he did so. "I said we were going to make it more interesting, didn't I? The girl is an easy case. It's the boyfriend that's the puzzle."

"But you haven't written his symptoms," Cameron pointed out perplexedly.

"Well, I don't know them _yet_. Cut me some slack here, Cameron. I'm not psychic."

"If you don't know his symptoms, then how is he a puzzle?" asked Chase.

"Like father, like son," House quipped. "Now, who wants to come welcome the new patients?"

Past incredulous, Foreman was on the verge of laughing. "_You're_ actually going to meet the patient?"

"Of course. It would be rude not to. And how else are we supposed to discover what symptoms the boy's hiding? I know you'd prefer to use a lockpick, Foreman, but your head would be a lot more useful right now." House paused on his way to the door. "Unless we need to break into his car. I'll let you know."

* * *

Entering the patient's room, they were greeted with the sight of a boy who looked to be in his late teens, with vaguely rust-coloured hair. He was sitting beside and conversing quietly with the patient – a dark-haired girl with pretty, modest features – who was, of course, lying on the hospital bed. As the door slid open, their conversation ceased.

"Dr House." The boy stood, extending his hand. "I'm Edward Cullen. It's an honour to meet you – Carlisle holds a great deal of respect for you."

House didn't return the gesture, instead giving Edward a brief once-over. "You're adopted," he said accusingly.

Cameron blinked before sending an alarmed glance House's way.

Rather than look surprised, Edward nodded unconcernedly. "I know."

There was an awkward moment of silence as House continued to eye Edward, Edward continued to look unconcerned and the patient watched the proceedings with a typical weariness usually seen in hospital patients. The tension was abruptly broken as House gestured to Cameron.

"Dr Cameron will run a full examination." With that, he exited the room, his mind whirring with theories.

* * *

"The patient's jaundiced," announced Cameron worriedly. She hesitated before adding, "And covered in bruises."

"Did you ask why?" said House, not moving his eyes from the coin he was spinning on the table.

"Not yet. I'm concerned... about her boyfriend."

"What, is he bruised as well?"

Cameron ignored House and continued. "We should speak to them separately. If there is anything going on, she's not likely to admit it with him there."

"He doesn't seem like the abusive type," Foreman interjected.

"Yeah, because that's the way the world works. Murderers are arrested based on whether or not they seem like the killing_ type_," said House in mock agreement. "Cameron, you talk to the girl. Foreman can have the guy who is clearly _too nice_ to be abusing her."

"What about me?" asked Chase, stopping Cameron and Foreman as they rose from their seats.

"You're going to be busy running a full set of genetic tests to confirm our diagnosis."

"Our diagnosis?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot my team is full of non-productive morons. I meant _my_ diagnosis. She has Thalassemia."

**Future updates are doubtful. Sorry. Having a really hard time writing these last few months.**

**-TeamVampire**


End file.
